Erik Waxler, abcactionnews
BROWARD COUNTY - Pete Townshend, legendary guitarist for the English rock band, The Who, walked off stage during the band's encore Thursday in Sunrise, Florida. It was the opening night for their first tour in four years.
Townshend's departure during the song, You Better You Bet, left singer Roger Daltrey and the rest of the band wondering what happened to the 67-year-old who has battled hearing problems for the last 20 years.
Townshend appeared to be complaining about the sound monitors on stage. He yelled they were "too loud," before walking off stage without telling his band mates what the problem was.
Townshend has had some hearing loss over the years and suffers from tinnitus.
His brother, Simon Townshend, who also plays guitar with The Who, confirmed the problem on Twitter, posting "pete walked off tonight because it was too loud. was a good show but had some technical problems."
Simon Townshend added that it was a "great gig though."
The band waited a short time, then continued with one more song, Baba O' Riley, before calling it a night. Townshend never came back out.
The band opened the 36-city tour by playing all of the 1973 album, Quadrophenia. The encore included popular Who songs, Pinball Wizard, Behind Blue Eyes and Who Are You.
The show also featured appearances by departed band members, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle.
Video of an Entwistle bass solo was shown during 5:15. Video of Moon singing his part of the song Bell Boy was also used. Entwistle died in 2002, Moon in 1978.
The Who is scheduled to play at the Amway Center in Orlando Saturday night.
